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The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety hosted its first internal Crisis Intervention Team training, a 36-hour Nevada POST-certified course developed in partnership with NAMI Southern Nevada, equipping officers with skills in active listening, suicide prevention, overdose response, and behavioral health recognition to improve outcomes when responding to individuals in mental health crisis.

Southside Behavioral Health hosted its 22nd annual 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team training, graduating participants from local law enforcement, sheriff's offices, 911 dispatch, jail staff, and hospital security across Southside Virginia, with the next session scheduled for June.

The video highlights how the Clive Police Department’s crisis team prioritizes de-escalation and connection to care, measuring success by lives impacted rather than enforcement metrics, while facing uncertainty due to potential funding cuts.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced a federal grant of just over $1 million to expand the city's 911 diversion program, which was originally launched in 2021 to redirect suicidal callers away from police and toward mental health professionals. The new funding, secured by U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume through the House Appropriations Committee, will allow the program to begin handling additional types of nonviolent calls, broadening its scope beyond behavioral health crises.

The expansion comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the program, as a Baltimore Sun analysis found that the number of diverted crisis calls dropped by more than 50% following an earlier expansion, though diversions have since rebounded. City officials acknowledge the system is still a work in progress, with long wait times and continued reliance on police remaining key challenges, but say Baltimore is on the right trajectory as a national leader in trauma-informed care policy.

Graham County Attorney Scott Bennett, a prosecutor with nearly 25 years of experience, argues in this opinion piece that diversion programs are a critical and often misunderstood tool in the justice system, one that holds offenders accountable through structured requirements like therapy, community service, and restitution rather than simply letting them off the hook.

The programs are particularly effective for first-time offenders and those with minor offenses, helping them avoid the lasting consequences of a criminal conviction that research shows can actually increase the likelihood of reoffending. Bennett notes that diversion cases represent only about 3% of Graham County's caseload but still yield meaningful results, and that these programs save significant taxpayer money by reducing the need for court proceedings, jail beds, and prison stays. He closes with a call for the Arizona Legislature to restore grant funding for diversion programs, especially in rural counties, arguing that doing so is both fiscally responsible and essential to building safer communities.